Today was about enjoying ourselves as we explored Porto. This didn’t mean that the “forced march” co-ordinator allowed us any extra time in bed to get over our hangovers from yesterday. He had us out on the streets heading towards the furnicular along the river front after our breakfast.
It was a very quick ride up the hill to where we looked for the Majestic Café.
We honestly didn’t need anything to eat as our gem of a hotel provides us with a more than adequate breakfast.
We had heard and read about this amazing establishment which dates back to 1921 and felt we just had to do it justice by imbibing in further food.
It was like stepping back into a bygone era where service was exquisite, and the culinary delights were second to none. After stuffing more food into our faces, we then went in search of the open market but not before being taken by yet another one of the many ornately tile covered buildings grabbing our attention. The tiles remind us of the Delft tile work that you get in the Netherlands.
We found the open market which was originally a fish market but unfortunately it had been over the top gentrified and was too sterile to take any photos of except the colourful display of fruit juices available. Di just saw these as diarrhoea in a plastic mug and walked past them at poste haste speed.
We came across many a beautiful store frontage which beaconed us to go in and explore. This one was a general store.
We also found a very unique corner hardware store where there was no room to move, and you had to take a number as soon as you walked in the store to be served. They had everything from skythes hanging from the ceiling at precarious angles and supported by dubious looking ropes to doorknobs, hammers and some unrecognizable paraphernalia. We really wanted to explore this place and take photos, but it was jamb packed with locals and didn’t want to appear as voyeurs.
Then it was onto a barber’s shop for Fraser. So far on our many excursions overseas, Fraser has had his hair cut by a Tunisian in the Loire Valley in France; a Pakistani in Wolverhampton UK; a Turk in Turkey and then today a Moroccan in Porto, Portugal. To say he has had fair to middling results over the years is an understatement. The Tunisian in the Loire Valley basically scalped him, but he just has this innate desire to experiment. Di goes along to supervise that no real carnage occurs. This time though, our Moroccan guy did a great job.
This next bit of footage is for our good friends Wolfgang and Marlene – it will require no explanation for them and to the rest of you – it is just Di being stupid.
It was then onto the book shop called Livraria Lello which has the staircase that JK Rowling based Hogwarts staircase on. She lived in Porto for two years with her first husband (he was a right nasty piece of works) and her first child and where she started sketching out the Harry Potter series.
The crowds were unreal and that was with a ticket.
The shop was small, but the centrepiece was the exquisite wooden staircase. The university students in Portugal wear a black uniform from their second year on. It is exactly what the students wore at Hogwarts, so you can see where she got that idea from. There is a very strong essence of pride to be able to wear this uniform and it must be earnt and hence you cannot wear it until you have accomplished the first year of university. How cool is that in these very modern times.
Another piece of Harry Potter trivia is who Rowlings based Professor Snape on and Slytherin House. Remember back in Lisbon when we mentioned that really “bad bastard” Salazar who was the dictator of Portugal from 1926 to 1974, well, there is a lot of conjecture that she based the Professor Snape character on him.
Fras still wanted to climb up the clock tower and Di felt she needed some down time, so we split up to reconnoiter back at the hotel. On Di’s way back to the hotel she came across this most unusual of street vendors. Not sure if vendor is the right thing because he wasn’t selling anything.
You can just make out about four Bantham hens, doves, budgies, cockatiels all perched on this stand and none of them trying to fly away. We have seen a number of people begging with cats and dogs and asking money to help feed their animals, but this guy just had his menagerie there for show. It was the weirdest conglomeration of animals we had come across in a street scene.
Fras made it up the clock tower which he said was pretty tight with everyone going up and down on the same stairwell.
He was rewarded with a great view back down towards the Douro River and the Atlantic.
Tonight, we were fortunate to be able to meet up with our friend Heather and her travelling companions from Calgary.
We have had three other groups of our friends visit Spain and Portugal already this year who are all from Calgary. We have another set of friends from Australia who are also booked to visit here in June/July. Obviously, this is becoming the go to place.
Heather booked a restaurant with the best location in Porto and it was an evening of fine dining, drinking of port (but of course) and great company.
Steps 14,142.
Rowkin Rovings Blog 